Community

We build partnerships with local organizations to advance health equity in New York City

Supporting our community

BioQuest

BioQuest is a STEM mentoring program designed to give middle and high school students opportunities to explore diverse careers in science, biotechnology, and medicine.

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Health Equity Grants

At RTW Foundation, we believe that building strong, lasting relationships with our Grant Partners is the cornerstone of meaningful change.

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Days of Action

RTW Foundation and our community partners are committed to advancing health equity by addressing key social determinants of health in NYC and beyond. One key way we achieve this is through our Days of Action.

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Community Partners
AIRnyc

AIRnyc is committed to increasing health care coverage for 9,100 South Bronx residents through Medicaid Waiver 1115 enrollment, care navigation, and referral support with their Community Health Worker (CHW) team. Beyond that, the team aims to share findings on community needs and care navigation recommendations with stakeholders statewide.

Community Health Action of Staten Island

Community Health Action of Staten Island drives improvements in the health of Staten Islanders and aims to train over 150 health providers and staff in health literacy, social determinants of health, and communication styles that will best support their community members to access care. The project seeks to complete an organizational health literacy assessment, train full staff in anti-racist health literacy training, and operationalize strategies that address areas of need including expanded language access, employee training on social determinants of health, and plain language communications. 

Exodus Transitional Community

“We are excited to partner with RTW Foundation to expand access to free, trauma-informed mental health care for justice-impacted youth and adults in Harlem. This grant empowers Exodus Transitional Community’s Center for Trauma Innovation to offer a holistic approach to healing, combining traditional therapy with innovative services like art therapy and yoga. Together, we are creating pathways for resilience, emotional wellness, and lasting change in our community.” 
- Kandra Clark, VP of Policy & Strategy, Exodus Transitional Community 

RaisingHealth

"We will be directly tackling the unmet health and social needs of immigrant families by partnering with local organizations and clinicians to offer a wide range of preventive health screenings, vaccinations, and information about health and social services."

- Hewett Chiu, President and CEO, RaisingHealth

The Mexican Coalition for the Empowerment of Youth and Families

"Mexican Coalition helped connect over 6,000 vulnerable adults to healthcare last year. With support from RTW Foundation, we will be able to expand our work and help make sure many more vulnerable children and families in NYC have access to the healthcare they deserve. Health equity is not a luxury but a right, and we are proud RTW Foundation has partnered with Mexican Coalition and others, so everyone is healthier in NYC.” 
-Jairo Guzmán, President, Mexican Coalition for the Empowerment of Youth and Families 

Saving Mothers

Saving Mothers will provide 100 mothers with MPOWHER Mom’s Kits, high quality diaper bags with health equipment and curated health literacy materials to empower mothers with their own health data and self-advocacy resources. In partnership with NYU Langone Black Mothers Matter and the Holistic Care Partner program, Saving Mothers will also train an NYU Patient Navigator to support Black mothers through pregnancy and the birthing processes, and will analyze MPOWEHER Kit effectiveness.  

Montefiore Medical Center

The Montefiore Medical Center’s program, Centers Implementing Clinical Excellence & Restoring Opportunity (CICERO), is a new grant partner that provides care for HIV+ patients in 10 convenient, community-based sites across the Bronx that afford patients anonymity and confidentiality. The grant will support integrating health equity measures in data systems to both standardize data collection and more easily identify trends, particularly around patients’ social determinant of health (SDOH) needs. Beyond that, the CICERO team will integrate targeted interventions to support patients’ SDOH needs and increase health outcomes for patients.

Hamilton-Madison House

“We are thrilled to continue advancing behavioral health access for the Asian American community. This grant allows us to add an additional post-doctoral fellow to our behavioral health care team to provide culturally tailored and linguistically proficient behavioral health care and train the next generation of professionals dedicated to this mission. Together, we are building a stronger foundation for mental health equity in New York City.” 
- Barry Post, Director of Development & External Affairs, Hamilton-Madison House 

East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP)

"Our partnership with RTW Foundation has addressed barriers that previously prevented East Harlem residents from accessing healthcare. Providing transportation support and financial incentives has had a profound impact on our clinic, reducing our no-show rate by 20% and allowing us to reach more patients who have nowhere else to turn for care. This year we will expand this initiative to include critical dental services and other specialty referrals."

- Jeremy Sherman, MD/PhD at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Mental Health Clinic Chair Emeritus, EHHOP

Mixteca

“At Mixteca, we're committed to providing culturally relevant and linguistically tailored programming and services to our Latinx community in New York City. We are excited to continue our partnership with RTW Foundation to expand access to critical health services, from mental health and preventative care to women’s health and nutrition. We aim to empower over 1,000 individuals with the education and resources they need to lead healthier lives.”
- Lorena Kourousias, Executive Director, Mixteca 

Harlem United Community AIDS Center

Harlem United facilitated 655 street-based medical visits to initiate and maintain Buprenorphine treatment, successfully helping many clients stay engaged with their care. Nearly all participants reported a reduction in drug use. Additionally, Harlem United distributed a total of 2,436 kits, including 1,279 wound care kits, 423 safer sex kits, and 734 naloxone kits, further supporting community health and safety.

BioBus

BioBus works to create scientific community for people excluded from science, reaching 700 students through five events at two schools. 11 students through one explore program, and launching two junior scientist internships.

Razom

Razom distributed over 50,000 First Aid kits to first responders and hospitals in Ukraine in the first 100 days of the war. 1,400 tactical medical backpacks were provided in addition to 38,000 bandages, tourniquets, and burn & wound dressings to this effort.

Weill Cornell Medicine

Weill Cornell Medicine conducted a cross-sectional time series analysis of pediatric mental health emergencies across the first three waves of the pandemic. Their research demonstrated increased proportions of pediatric mental health emergency department visits, especially during Wave 2, with the magnitude of the increase being dependent on specific mental health diagnoses and sociodemographic factors. Increases in mental health emergencies were associated with COVID-19 case prevalence, but not with the societal restrictions placed as a result of the pandemic. Findings were presented at two national meetings and will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

BioEyes

BioEyes worked with over 2000 students in the BioEYES tenure, ICT classrooms to bring live science to students with learning and behavioral disabilities, over 18 teachers in the East Harlem district, and worked in 11 schools in the East Harlem area.

Areté Education
Think!Chinatown
Hunts Point Alliance for Children

HPAC provided 96 hours of triage support and 8 hours of workshops for teachers and students, established referral partnership with Urban Health Plan for further counseling needs, and trained 5th grade teachers in the Mood Meter tool. The Mood Meter was used by 377 students at PS 48 and 100% of students and teachers would recommend it saying it "makes my day better" and "breathing helps me calm down".

New York Cares
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai supported their research on the pathophysiology of PACS and have published their findings identifying objective blood biomarkers associated with PACs/Long-COVID and making recommendations for effective intervention protocols in the care of patients with PACS.

Habitat for Humanity New York City

Habitat for Humanity preserved and revitalized 200 units of affordable housing and community centers in New York City housing impacting 1,700+ low-to moderate income, majority BIPOC New Yorkers.

Welcome to Chinatown

Welcome to Chinatown raised over $350,000 to benefit small businesses in Chinatown, supporting over ten individual businesses, including businesses affected by the Mulberry St. fire. Funds were used to revitalize the 88 East Broadway Mall, and to launch the Longevity Fund Acceleration & Incubation Program for new businesses in Chinatown as a response to the findings of their Chinatown Impact Study. 

Send Chinatown Love

Send Chinatown Love supported eight Chinatown merchants to respond to food insecurity needs by donating 3,200 hot meals through their Gift-A-Meal campaign.

New Immigrant Community Empowerment

NICE provided 500 families with food packages, vaccine education and resources, registered people for vaccination appointments, and vaccinated over 5,000 people. They also distributed 10,000 meal and grocery packages through the NICE food access program.

Violence Intervention Program

Violence Intervention Program developed a training manual, trained 18 VIP Staff in six new healing modalities, and piloted group therapy sessions with 20 survivors. They also trained counselor advocates, reaching approximately 1,200 survivors annually.

Rutgers

Three Rutgers scholars are advancing global health, one scholar completing a four-week international residency in Kampala, Uganda gaining knowledge, perceptions, and curriculum development on sickle cell disease and hydroxyurea treatment. Another scholar completed Cardiac Point of Care Ultrasound training for physicians, nurses, and CHWs in Mampong, Ghana.

ACT Care Foundation

“ACT Care Foundation gives many thanks to RTW Foundation for the support they have given our organization to enable us to continue the work we do in our community. Flatbush usually doesn't receive enough resources and RTW's contribution has enabled us to feed thousands of families, provide PPE, supplies and referrals to healthcare access. Their partnership has been a true blessing.”

- Ann Marie Selfridge, Program Director, ACT Care Foundation

NYU Langone Health

NYU Langone Health developed and piloted the RTW Holistic Integrative Health Nursing Training Program with ten fellows from various high-need and high-risk specialty areas across NYU Langone Health including Labor & Delivery, Oncology Radiation, Emergency Department, Operation Room, the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, Psychiatry, and Transplant. Ten fellows received over 200 hours of intensive mentorship and each fellow launched their own applied programs in their departments after completing the program.

African International Collaborative Center

The African International Collaborative Center supported 32 African American nurses and healthcare workers with a culturally-responsive support group, building coping skills & network of support.

Association to Benefit Children

ABC’s Children’s Mobile Crisis Team (CMCT) provides rapid mental health crisis response to children in Manhattan 24/7. Since their last interaction with CMCT, 99% of children avoided school disciplinary action and 100% avoided criminal justice involvement, 90% had not been admitted to hospital or ER, 93.3% had not spent time in an inpatient psychiatric unit, and 82% met or made progress toward their treatment goals with 28% fully meeting their goals.